Larks draw against Central

HESSTON — The Hesston College women's soccer team had plenty of chances Thursday in a 0-0 tie against Central Christian College in Hesston, the Larks just couldn't find a finish in its season opener.

Hesston outshot Central 5-3. Central didn't have any shots until the final 25 minutes of play. The two teams declined to play overtime.

"We didn't finish," Hesston coach Bryan Kehr said. "Finishing is something we're going to need to work on. We need to work on attacking in their third, like our runs on the ball. We've only been together about eight days. Last week, we didn't practice. Our fields were unpracticable, so we were inside a lot. We're young and inexperienced, but we're getting better."

Hesston controlled possession for most of the first half, but only got off two shots, both in the opening minutes. Central made just a couple of runs into the HC defensive third.

Central finally mounted a challenge with 31 minutes remaining in regulation that keeper Skylar Trapp pulled away from the Central's Krystina Powell before a shot could be attempted. Central finally got a shot off in the 64th minute that floated over the crossbar. Central finally put a shot on goal on a Powell attempt in the 80th minute that Trapp was able to dive on and deflect.

"(Powell) is a really good player," Kehr said. "We had to work hard to keep her contained. The play of the game was when Skylar made that save on the breakaway."

Hesston had a shot turned away in the 87th minute. The Larks took another one a minute later.

"We have to get better," Kehr said. "We're still experimenting with positional play. We haven't been able to work on set pieces at all — defending or offensive set pieces. We have a wonderful group of kids, so we'll be all right."